‘Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind’ is a philosophically provocative film which tracks the relationship of two main characters, Joel and Clemantine, in their search for happiness. Saddened with the heartbreak from ending their relationship, they both undergo a memory removal proceedure to erase their memory of each other in order to eliminate their emotional suffering. As the film unfolds, it becomes clear that having a ‘spotless mind’ does not ensure ‘eternal sunshine’, contrary to what the title suggests. Instead, there is a sense of tragedy and loss which prevails as the unfortunate consequences of their decision transpires throughout the film. This essay attemps to analyse whether utilising such memery-removal technology can be justified as a good or bad thing; whether ignorance truly is bliss or if it is better know the truth and suffer. It will also explore the affects of erasing memories on ones personal identity by discussing the concepts of philosophers such as John Locke and Thomas Reid.
Questioning the use of memory removal technology as morally good or not may elicit a utilitarian response. Utilitarians would look to the consequences to decipher an answer. John Stuart Mill argues that for an action to be morally correct it must maximise overall happiness while avoiding suffering and pain. “If a memory-removal proceedure can function in such a way that it brings about more happiness than would otherwise be possible, the use of such a proceedure is not only justified, but in fact morally required on utilitarian grounds (Grau, ).” However, this may be disputed by the value placed on truth. Nozick refutes utilitarianism and other theories valuing happiness and pleasure in his thought experiment known as the Experience Ma...
... middle of paper ...
...like I’m disappearing… nothing makes sense to me.’ It may be argued that Clemantime is encountering a secondary experience, an experience which resembles its primary version but is not recognised by memory. ‘The experience itself is in a sense being used in our thinking, and so, is present in us. For this reason exercising a phenomenal concept will feel like having the experience itself. (Papineau, )’ This ‘antipathetic fallacy’ is described by Papineau as a deep-seated intuition that shows a distinction between the physical and conscious state. It creates the fallicious impression that material ways of thinking about past experiences fail to refer to the actual felt experiences themselves.
Works Cited
Douglas, G. R. (2007) Faith, Film and Philosophy: Big Ideas on the Big Screen. Intervarsity Press
Mackie, J.L. (1976) Problems from Locke. Oxford: Clarendon Press
Some works show their true colors right away. Gene Edward Veith’s book, Reading Between The Lines, addresses philosophical ideas, literary sub genres, and reader criticisms in order to ascertain a Christian’s role in literature. He also goes through various historical periods and examines their more prominent works and schools of thought. While a select few of his conclusions about Christianity in relation to the arts have merit, others contain more damaging implications. Specifically, his statements regarding television represent inaccurate and offensive thinking.
As humans we are constantly in search of understanding the balance between what feels good and what is right. Humans try to take full advantage of experiencing pleasure to its fullest potential. Hedonism claims that pleasure is the highest and only source of essential significance. If the notion of hedonism is truthful, happiness is directly correlated with pleasure. Robert Nozick presented the philosophical world with his though experiment, “The Experience Machine” in order to dispute the existence and validity of hedonism. Nozick’s thought experiment poses the question of whether or not humans would plug into a machine which produces any desired experience. Nozick weakens the notion of hedonism through his thought experiment, claiming humans need more than just pleasure in their lives. Nozick discovers that humans would not hook up to this machine because they would not fully develop as a person and consider it a form of suicide.
Because this film depicts a love story—from decline to renewal, a romantic theme influences the audience. However, for a character like Mary, her script is not romantic, and juxtaposed against the romantic, creates a stark reality of a scriptural narrative. Initially, the title of this film, The Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, references Lacuna’s “spotless mind” procedure. However, the audience learns that the title originates from Alexander Pope from a poem that describes a tragic love story, where forgotten memories comfort the protagonist. This notion in mimicked in the film, because even in the characters’ phantasies—of erased memories, the characters cannot truly escape their realities—subconscious emotions of their love. Despite the character’s attempts to create their notion of reality—phantasy, reality remains dominant, and
Repressed memories is a topic that has been an ongoing dispute among some, however ac...
Stone, Bryan P. Faith and Film: Theological Themes at the Cinema. St.Louis: Chalice Press, 2000.
The 'doctrine of recollection' states that all true knowledge exists implicitly within us, and can be brought to consciousness - made explicit - by recollection. Using the Platonic concepts of 'Forms', 'particulars', 'knowledge' and 'true opinion', this essay explains what can or cannot be recollected, why all knowledge is based on recollection, and why the doctrine does not prove the soul to be immortal.
"A Critique of Inherit the Wind: Analyzing One of the Most Anti-Christian Films in History." Protestantism. Web. 02 June 2010.
Mackervoy, Ian. "What *faith Should Do." James. Wycliffe Associates, Feb. 2003. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.
Most people are very convinced that they have memories of past experiences because of the event itself or the bigger picture of the experience. According to Ulric Neisser, memories focus on the fact that the events outlined at one level of analysis may be components of other, larger events (Rubin 1). For instance, one will only remember receiving the letter of admission as their memory of being accepted into the University of Virginia. However, people do not realize that it is actually the small details that make up their memories. What make up the memory of being accepted into the University of Virginia are the hours spent on writing essays, the anxiety faced due to fear of not making into the university and the happiness upon hearing your admission into the school; these small details are very important in creating memories of this experience. If people’s minds are preset on merely thinking that memories are the general idea of their experiences, memories become very superficial and people will miss out on what matters most in life. Therefore, in “The Amityville Horror”, Jay Anson deliberately includes small details that are unnecessary in the story to prove that only memory can give meaning to life.
The importance of memory is shown in how essential it is to each character. Without their memories, it is arguable that none of the characters would have a “self”. They use their memories so often to form opinions of each other, remember feelings they had towards each other and to
Eastman, Roger. The Ways of Religion: An Introduction to the Major Traditions. Third Edition. Oxford University Press. N.Y. 1999
... as they tend to promote happiness and wrong if they produce the reverse of happiness. The great majority of good actions are intended not for the benefit of the world, but for individuals of which the good of the world is made up of. Through Mill’s reading “Defense of Utilitarianism” his idea was that there are many simple, sensual pleasures in life. He posited that someone who has experienced both forms of pleasure high and low would choose would naturally choose the higher pleasure. In addition, Elliot Sober criticizes Mills thoughts about Utilitarianism. He also discusses the thought experiment created by Robert Nozick “the experience machine.” Sober takes a stand against the experience machine for various reasons as he believes that there are many other important things in life other than pleasure. He also states that we value much more than just happiness.
Thus, story and memory remove humans from the horrible brevity of mortal life by bringing existence into a realm outside of time. Humans die, but through story their fellow humans can make them immortal. Even amidst life’s tragedies, stories allow us to transform what seems an unbearable reality into something deeply beautiful. And yet their power is not merely retrospective since stories impose moral responsibility on our every action. Forgetting, therefore, is among the worst evils; not only because of the “moral perversity” it permits, but also because of the meaning it denies.
If an individual loses his past self, would he still be the same individual? According to the personal identity memory theory by John Locke, as long as a person is the same self, the personal identity of that person is the same. But for Leonard Shelby who is the main character if the Memento film, this does not apply after he suffered a condition that hinders him from creating new memories. This paper addresses the topic of the truth of John Locke’s perception of personal identity which follows that Leonard does not have a personal identity. The paper reviews the Memento film which is a psychological thriller which presents two different personal identities of Leonard Shelby after suffering from a memory condition. The paper
In the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind stresses the importance of memory and how memories shape a person’s identity. Stories such as “In Search of Lost Time” by Proust and a report by the President’s Council on Bioethics called “Beyond Therapy” support the claims made in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.